Israel Summons French Envoy to Express Disappointment in UN Vote

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UN Security Council in New York. Photo: wiki commons.

JNS.org – The Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned French Ambassador to Israel Patrick Maisonnave to express displeasure in France’s decision to support the Palestinians failed United Nations Security Council resolution for unilateral establishment of statehood.

“The only way to reach progress with the Palestinians is through direct negotiations, not through unilateral announcements or a unilateral policy,” Aviv Shir-On—the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s deputy director-general for Western Europe—told Maisonnave, Haaretz reported.

The Palestinians’ Security Council resolution called for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank by 2017 and the establishment of a Palestinian state with borders based on the pre-1967 lines.

According to Maisonnave, France’s decision to support the resolution was not aimed at Israel, but rather was an attempt to prevent the Palestinians from pursuing other unilateral steps.

“That’s exactly what happened after the Security Council rejected the proposal, and the Palestinians went to The Hague,” Maisonnave said, referring to the Palestinian Authority’s bid to join the International Criminal Court.